The Donna Summer Tribute Site

California Fan Reviews 

August 2005

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Alpine August 24

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Wow, what a night. Perfect night for an out door concert, all though a little warm. Donna was amazing. This was one of my favorite concerts I've been to. She sang all of I Got Your Love! Just kidding, it was just the standard two choruses and one verse. She did however sing You Are So Beautiful To Me after the cheers and applause from I Love You didn't stop. The crowed was very active and full of characters as you can see by the picture of those she picked for On The Radio on her site. I can't wait to see her next time around!

The set list was:
Intro
She Works Hard for the Money
Once Upon A Time
I Love You
You are so Beautiful
MacArthur Park
Could It Be Magic
Smile
Help from My friends
On The Radio
I Got your love
Natural Woman
Le Imagine Cafe
My Man Medley
No More Tears
Nights In White Satin
Try Me/I Feel Love/ Love to Love You baby
Cold Love
Bad Girls
Hot stuff
Last Dance 

- Mark G

 

Los Angeles August 26

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Just got home from the show at Gibson (formerly Universal) Amphitheatre. I'll do my best to find some time in the next day or so to let you know the whole night's "festivities", but for now I can say that having been a fan for 27 years (um, ouch), I have NEVER seen Donna so respond to, and soak up the response from the audience. Then again I have never (including the Hollywood Bowl Concert for the ABC Special) heard an audience go so completely and totally out of control. There were many reasons, here are a few for now... Love to Love You Baby WITH some very cute but also sexy mid-song "moans" of, well, "delight" from the Diva was enough to put this crowd over the edge alone. Brooklyn was an On the Radio singer and was adorable. At one point, Donna's voice caught with emotion and she welled up as the crowd just kept cheering. After the 3rd encore of Last Dance, she left, but the roaring didn't stop. So she came back out and sang State of Independence. I could not believe it.

It was an amazing evening. I'm exhausted, but smiling!

I'll try to write more in the next bit... I've got a busy stretch coming.

- Michael from LA

All I can say about tonight's show is.................................... WOW!

AND At the end of the show ( in response to an out of control SCREAMING SCREAMING audience,,,, she came back again and sang ( are you ready for this,,,,,,,,,,,,)

STATE OF INDEPENDENCE~ wowowowowowowowowowowow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was the first time I EVER heard her sing it live and it was................................... incredible!

Donna God bless you and thank you again for bringing us your talent, your presence, your grace-beauty... thank you for YOU!!!

- Jim from Ontario

Part 2:

OK, ( whew) now that I have settled down after last nights most incredible performance by our DIVA, I have to tell you that Donnas show was by far the most energetic/entertaining and perfect performance I have ever seen her put on live.

She is just incredible, the flawless voice combined with her beautiful appearance and backed up by a great team of musicians simply made for an unforgettable evening. She seemed so excited to be back in LA again! And her high level of self confidence is so good to see, she knows she is the best!

Her happiness radiates from her expressions on her face, she looks beautiful!
And the most perfect bell like voice belting out her hits along with some of her personal favorites at times seemed like the sound of a perfect recording!

The audience was by far the loudest, most exciting/energetic group of people I have ever seen at a Donna concert.

Thank you Donna for making August 26, 2005 a night to remember for ever! (Especially ending the night with State of Independence)!

And, please don't ever stop singing!

Wanted to send you a quick early report on Donna's concert in Los Angeles. It was one of the best Donna concerts I've seen. It was a great "Donna crowd". Basically, it was the same line up as the previous concerts on the tour. And she did sing LTLYB. She sang about 3 closing verses of Last Dance. The crowd wouldn't stop cheering and applauding. She kept saying "Good Night"....but the crowd kept wanting more. She came back out on stage.....and looked kind of puzzled like "what should I do". The whole time the fans are still cheering and applauding. Then she surprised everyone and sang "State of Independence". She said she hasn't performed it anywhere else....in fact she said she wasn't sure she knew all of the words. But she did great.....and she really got into it. The crowd really got into it too.

- Bob from Delaware

8/26/05 Donna Summer at the Universal (Gibson) Amphitheater, Los Angeles, CA.

WOW !! Is the word that can sum it up, well perhaps AMAZING, AWESOME or quite frankly PHENOMENAL can all be used to describe the show at the Universal Amphitheater (why they had to change the name to Gibson – just sucks – it will always be the Universal – but enough about that.) This may be long, so please bear with me.

It was a really hot SUMMER night here in L.A. and I mean HOT ! The temp was 95 degrees plus in the day and we knew it was gonna get hotter but we had no clue that Donna would just blow the mercury right outta here. Before the show the music was getting louder then gradually louder then they played “I Got Your Love” and the crowd just started screaming and getting antsy for Donna. A few more minutes before the show, the I got a surprise call from my sister on my cell and asked “where are you” so I said, “I am at the Donna Summer concert” then she says, “So am I” ! What a nice surprise, but she was up in the mezzanine section and I caught up with her after.. Anyway, so finally the lights dim and the band begins the medley of Donna songs and the crowd is just going wild !! Then the smoke starts coming (at least I think there was smoke LOL) and the disco ball begins to rise and then there she is Donna Summer, with her right arm up in air with her head thrown back and wearing a black glittery flowing gown with separate matching glittery sleeves as she rises up to the top of the piano and the band starts into “She Works Hard for the Money” all the while the crowd is screaming, dancing it was so great and so dramatic and so DONNA !!

After that she goes into “Once Upon A Time / I Love You” and explained about how she wrote it for her 7 year old daughter Mimi, who now has a 7 year old daughter. It was great, a hard follow up to SWHFTM but it was fantastic, her rendition of “I Love You” was simply amazing, I was frozen in time only to be brought back with the heavy heavy desire to scream my lungs out in appreciation because she simply floored me with her voice, I could almost feel the oxygen leaving my head as I was screaming so hard, I was almost feeling the need to be resuscitated I honestly didn’t think she would sound that great singing this song after all these years but boy was I ever wrong. What came next was the explanation of “the cake song” and how this New York woman asked her about it, Donna was saying this with a heavy New York accent, it was quite funny and she then sang “MacArthur Park” complete with the bridge section of the song. Was this not the song that got many of us hooked on this Diva or what? She sounded better than ever on this song.

We all know the song list from previous reviews, so forgive me as I may jump around a bit, but one of the many highlights was when she did “Natural Woman” and the “twins” story part – she was just really funny what with all her banter and her head movements while she was talking she was just really funny all night and so appreciative of all her fans and got teary eyed at one point from all the love we showed her. But, when we heard the full power of that voice from God when she sang the song, I simply got chills to no end. “Smile” was simply beautiful, as was “My Man Medley”. She was fabulous with another glittery gown, singing while sitting on the piano, I never get tired of this medley. At one point she brought her daughter Brooklyn on stage to be one of her divas for the “On The Radio” part, which was nice because her daughter is so beautiful, you know then she had other audience members be her back up it was cute.

After yet another costume change into a nice white pantsuit type of thing she goes into “No More Tears” with sister Mary. Excuse me !, but has this girl been taking singing lessons or what, because she was belting out with Donna and at times you almost could not tell them apart. Way to go Mary !! This rendition was nice because it had an intro of girl talk (the Ferrari story intro but altered), about men of course, then the song played out and the crowd was once again on their feet. Donna was hilarious singing the ballad part and then moving her lips in every direction but very fast, OMG it was hilarious. She had big screens on each side of the stage so you could see everything. Is it just me, but don’t you just love when you see the whole crowd up on their feet screaming ( you know looking at the whole crowd and seeing 6000 + people), dancing and all in all just worshipping this Diva to no end – I simply love it and can’t get enough of it because dang nabbit she soooooooo deserves it. After that she goes on to tell us about her 8 years in Germany (while treating us to some chit chat in German) and how she was very ill at one point and heard “Knights in White Satin” on the radio and always wanted to sing it but was too scared to but now she just had to sing it because she is not young anymore and then sang it !! Again, when she just lets loose with the full power of that voice, I cannot describe it other than “bone chilling”. I was just floored again, I don’t know if I was alive or in purgatory just waiting for the show to end so I could go to my final resting place because what came next was my ultimate thrill for the night. Yep, she sang the “Try Me / I Feel Love / Love To Love You Baby” medley. I had literally just prayed to God to please have her sing this medley ( I swear I did) and my prayers were answered. I almost jumped out of my skin !! But yes I literally jumped from my seat and my friend next to me was just laughing at me. It sounded awesome and she just sang, WOW ! She did a little moan and some coos for LTLYB, and that is all I needed. I don’t think I want to see her do this song like she did in the 70’s (well maybe) but I am perfectly fine and extremely happy and satisfied that she did it at all. I mean seeing her moan and groan while humping a microphone stand while smoke billows thru her legs is not my idea of a grandmother. My life is now complete, as I never saw her perform in the 70’s and having played “Live & More” at least a thousand times and still counting, this just completed my quest for the “old songs” to be sung again, so yes I am no longer in purgatory but I am now in heaven reflecting on everything that is Donna and my life is now complete! Yes, call me dramatic I don’t care, but this woman has simply moved me beyond belief and has come full circle in her amazing career (with more to come I am sure) !

She then proceeded into “Cold Love” which by the way, I again was floored as she just sounded great and then went into “Bad Girls/ Hot Stuff” and I swear I think the crowd was gonna have and aneurysm – oh wait, that was probably me. Everyone was on their feet screaming and dancing it was a sight (if I hadn’t shaved the hairs off of my arms they would have been standing too). After “Hot Stuff” she said her goodnights and left and the crowd kept on roaring louder and louder and there I am with my freakin' lighter ( I was the only fool in my section doing this – only because I never did this LOL) and finally the now famous violin solo and then “Last Dance” ! I just can’t say enough about this song other than it epitomizes disco as a whole and she is the forever-reigning Queen of Disco (but we all know she is so much more than just disco) ! After this song the crowd was even louder than before, I didn’t think it was possible but it happened, then she told us that she would sing this certain song and that she didn’t even remember all the words but she would do it for us. It was “State of Independence” I love this song and haven’t seen her sing it since 1983. It was great and she finished and then proceeded to do yet another encore of “Last Dance” only the last verse just before it ends (she did this several times and we just ate it up like a turkey on thanksgiving – minus the belching). The crowd just didn’t want her to leave, of course neither did I but after just shy of 2 hours of singing she hesitantly left. She left a completely satisfied crowd and left us with wonderful memories of a great hot SUMMER night. I loved this show because the staging was quite a sight and then the fact that she didn’t have a curtain drop at the end so it was always just open, and almost like you were at home and it never really ended because it will be in your mind for a long long time.

All in all, it was a great night simply put, I am left with this completely satisfied feeling and if possible I am even more in love with Donna Summer than ever before. It WAS truly “a magical, mystical night”!!

- Patrick A

[Editor's note: I haven't heard from one LA fan who will call the amphitheater anything but the Universal Amphitheater.  Not ONE!  LOL]

I was at the Donna Summer concert last night in LA, and all I have to say is that she was AWESOME. The place was packed and the crowd was so into Donna. She sang several songs that I have never heard her sing live, Love to Love You Baby, Try me I know we can make it, Cold Love, State On Independence. Her voice was incredible and she looked great. She also sang her new song as well. Do I hear a remix coming soon!!! Anyway that is the update. 

- Fred in LA

My name is Daryl and I live in Sydney Australia. I have been a Donna fan ever since I bought the single of I Feel Love in 1977. I grew up in New Zealand and then moved to Australia. Unfortunately Donna has never toured this part of the world. I had resigned myself to never seeing her live. Then when I learned of her tour this year I decided to buy a ticket to the Los Angeles show at the Gibson Amphitheatre and fly over especially. Well to cut a long story short, I did just that, and I was lucky enough to be one of those present at her show on Friday 26 August. As you know from the reviews already posted on your site, the show was AWESOME. I knew I would have the time of my life but this concert really blew me away. I have been to hundreds of concerts over the last 25 years but I have never seen a crowd so 'into it' as this crowd was. from the moment Donna walked on stage until the moment she left, we were on our feet. I'm very glad that it's taken me so long to see her, as the songs that she sang on this tour, and this concert in particular, are all my favourites. How lucky to hear Try Me, I Feel Love, and LTLYB as well as Once Upon A Time and I Love You. Bad Girls has been my favourite song ever since it came out and another of my favourites is State of Independence. Of course she looked beautiful but it was that VOICE that I will never forget. Until you hear her live I don't think you can really appreciate the power and the beauty of her voice. My partner who accompanied me, is not the mad Donna fanatic that I am, but he too was 'blown away' by her. All in all a night I will never forget!! 

-Daryl

All the reviews say it all. I was so thrilled to hear the crowds reaction that it even took me by surprise. It was thunderous. It was a fitting welcome 'home' for her from those of us who know her history with the 'Universal' Amphitheater.

- Warner, Los Angeles

(See his photos below)

 

Saratoga August 28

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just want to be one of the first to report from Saratoga Ca. this was my third time seeing her live and i am still blown away by her voice. this tour she is doing alot of rare, classic material such as, "i love you", "try me", "could it be magic" and "cold love". the biggest suprise was bringing "love to love you baby" out of retirement. crowd went nuts. this was her first time performing here and she was overwhelmed by the response we gave her. to top it off , she was very funny and had the crowd laughing. except for the 1979 concert i saw back in Oakland, this was her best yet.

-Dave, San Jose

As always, she was fantastic, though she was suffering from a some allergies according to her. Still, she sounded fantastic and did an amazing performance. Highlight was MacArthur Park - entire venue gave her a standing ovation and her rendition of Amazing Grace which she sang as a prayer for those in the path of incoming Hurricane Katrina. She has the entire audience singing along with her. 

I feel blessed that I've had the opportunity to see her twice in 12 months (the last time being in Reno, NV last year).

-Stuart

(See his photos below)

 

Anaheim September 1

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Just wanted to pass along my thoughts on her show in Anaheim at the Grove. She was just as AMAZING as when I first saw her in 1979 at the (then) Universal Amphitheatre in LA. The Grove only seats 800 people, so it was very intimate, which I love. After her first song, the crowd was so loud and WOULD NOT stop cheering and clapping, it actually brought her to tears. She did (as I'm sure you're well aware of) ALL of her old stuff, which was just fine with me!! She was in terrific voice, and I could have listened to another hour of her! We had 2nd row seats, which made it great!!! 

- Kevin from the OC

 

Photos from LA and Saratoga
(click for larger versions)

 

*Confess Anonymous - your boss doesn't know this is why you were out from work, does he?  LOL

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